At the end of Week 8
Thoughts on Topic 4 – Information Literacy
As I initially waded through this topic and tried valiantly to get my head around all the terminology, reading Linda Langford’s article, Information Literacy, A Clarification made me feel that it was OK to be confused! Langford was working as a TL and performing various functions for ASLA when she wrote this article in 1998. It is a great summary of the plethora of definitions of the term, information literacy. In her Introduction, Langford writes: “However, one could just as easily come through the research and still be asking, ‘What is it I am trying to understand, let alone teach?’ ”
Looking at the various information models helped me ‘get my head around’ information literacy and the summary at: http://ictnz.com/infolitmodels.htm was particularly helpful (despite the fact that many of the links to specific sites are broken). The models began to clarify how a TL might ‘do’ information literacy.
When looking at specific websites for various models, I was impressed by the sheer scope and range of Eisenberg and Berkowitz’s The Big6 website at: http://www.big6.com/
Although the system has been criticised for being overly-commercial, there are many resources freely available on this site.
It was then fascinating to read how the convergence of information and digital literacies has been managed in many schools systems. I found the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) Standards for the 21st-century Learner (2007), particularly impressive, more than earning its high status as a document that helps all TLs move into the future with confidence. This is available as a download at: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/learningstandards/standards.cfm
